Supervisor: Sergio Ioppolo

For some, ice is just an ice-cube in a drink or a sun lolly on a summer day. But to physicists, it’s a fascinating phenomenon that bridges condensed matter physics, food science, and planetary exploration.
In this colloquium, we explore the many phases of ice—from the familiar Ice Ih to the more exotic forms like Ice VI—examining their structures, formation conditions, and relevance both on Earth and in extraterrestrial environments. We discuss the role of quenching and how rapid cooling can lead to amorphous ice, as well as the recrystallization processes that affect texture and stability in frozen food.
Finally, we present why freezing a sun lolly with liquid nitrogen is not only visually satisfying but also scientifically superior. This will be demonstrated through 3D heat conduction simulations and physical experiments, showing how extreme cooling rates impact ice formation at the microscopic level.